Search Results for: blog homeschooling around the world the americas

Ya Mon, Homeschooling has made it to Jamaica

I have always thought of Jamaican education as superior to American Education. Having a great deal of Jamaican family members and friends, I had always observed that children coming to America from Jamaica were a couple of years ahead of American Children. They would always get skipped ahead a couple of grades, as far as their maturity would allow, and they tended to graduate from American schools at 15 or 16. With that said, I was somewhat aware of dangers and political unrest in Jamaica in recent years, but had no idea that it had affected Jamaican Education. Although, I … Continue reading →

Homeschooling around the World: Middle East

In this my final installment of homeschooling around the world, I will address the state of homeschooling in the Middle East. I was tempted to skip this installment since there is little data on homeschooling, or even education in the area. I thought better of it because with education being non existent, poor, or unstable, I could not think of a better solution for Middle Eastern families than homeschooling. As I recently wrote, many Middle Eastern families in America have turned to homeschooling. Meanwhile education in many Middle Eastern countries is weak due to safety reasons and sexual discrimination. While … Continue reading →

Homeschooling around the World Europe

Homeschooling is not unique to the United States and Canada. I am pointing this out because I often receive messages from people in other countries about homeschooling. Most are not aware of their homeschooling options. Therefore, I decided to discuss homeschooling around the globe. Here is the state of homeschooling in Europe. In Europe there is a general distrust of homeschooling and for the most part it is difficult to homeschool. Still many families fight for the right to educate children on their own terms. Bulgaria: There are less than 100 homeschooling families in Bulgaria, and homeschooling is only allowed … Continue reading →

Homeschooling around the World: The Americas

This article is part of my series on homeschooling around the world. The reason for discussing this is because it has come to my attention that people all over the world don’t realize that homeschooling is an option for them, plus Americans don’t realize that homeschooling is not a unique phenomenon. In the Americas, homeschooling is flourishing, but it is not without opposition. American Homeschooling is often used as the model of homeschooling in other countries. Homeschooling in the United States Of course it is no secret that homeschooling is prospering in the United Stated in spite of opposition from … Continue reading →

Homeschooling around the World: Australia & New Zealand

Homeschooling is alive and well in Australia and New Zealand. Initially, homeschooling made it possible for children in remote areas to be education. Now families may choose to homeschool for any number of reasons. Homeschooling in Australia Australia: There are between 15,000 and 20,000 homeschoolers in the country, according to reports from different educational agencies. Homeschoolers have access to public homeschooling programs as well as private. Some of the private programs available are Australian Christian Academy, Swan Christian College Online, and Yea High School. Unschooling is also popular in Australia. Australia has three homeschool associations. They are the Home Education … Continue reading →

Homeschooling Around the World: African & Asia

Homeschooling is not just an American thing. I often receive messages from people in countries other than my own about homeschooling. Some of these people already homeschool their children. Some are curious about homeschooling. There are others who are not even aware that people homeschool in their country. With that said, I decided to discuss homeschooling around the globe. I would like to start with homeschooling in Africa and Asia. Homeschooling in Africa Information on homeschooling is Africa is limited due to the instability of many countries. Still there is some information in key countries such a Kenya and South … Continue reading →

Dash the Dog: Biking from Alaska to Argentina

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love reader comments. Why? Because I get to meet the most interesting people doing some very neat things! Take Ron Smith of PETitionz.org for instance. He left a comment which I at first thought was spam. However, our managing editor, Heather Long, suggested it might make for a neat lead. Luckily I listened to her, checked him out, and that’s how I learned about Mr. Smith’s efforts to reform pet food safety regulations. Well, it happened again. This time Nancy Sathre-Vogel left a comment on my article Would You Know … Continue reading →

More on Charlotte Mason and Living Books

Andrea’s recent post about her use of a Charlotte Mason (or, “CM”) curriculum inspired me to share a little more about how we use Miss Mason’s methods in our homeschool. Charlotte Mason, a 19th century British educator, was unmarried and childless, but she had a keen understanding of children and an expert’s eye for what interests them. One of the most prominent tenets of her philosophy — her belief that educators and parents should make use of “living books” rather than textbooks — has had a strong influence on our homeschool and on my personal philosophy. I was just beginning … Continue reading →

What Your First Grader Should Know: Social Studies

Before I begin, I want to note that I have a little trouble with this one. Perhaps it is because this isn’t what I teach, so I’m narrow minded. Perhaps my reasoning is right–who knows? One of many reasons that I decided to homeschool, is because I felt like kids were “dummied down” in public schools. Rather than being fed meat, they were being fed fluff. Social studies is one area that I deem “fluffy” as it were. Don’t misunderstand, I of course want to teach history and geography which also would fit into the technical definition of social studies. … Continue reading →